Heart and soul: Finding rock 'n' roll's roots on a trip through the South

JOHN PETKOVIC/THE PLAIN DEALERPo' Monkey's Lounge -- located on a gravel road amid cotton fields, off Highway 61, in Mississippi -- is one of the last old-style juke joints standing in America.

We measure wealth with dollars, literacy with words.

By these benchmarks, Mississippi resides at the bottom of the list.

But if culture carries a price tag, Mississippi could be our richest state. The Magnolia State is the cradle of the blues. The birthplace of 13 Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductees. But more than that, it's a land where our musical language was written, in tiny towns, far from the music moguls of Manhattan.

In places like Tupelo, where Elvis Presley sprang from a shotgun shack. Or itsy-bitsy Itta Bena, the home of B.B. King. Or Clarksdale, where blues legend Robert Johnson made his deal with the devil -- a Faustian myth rock 'n' roll continues to flirt with.

The stories of these small-town legends seem so ancient, so faraway from the lifestyle malls, clever Tweets and iProducts of the 21st century.

That is, until I stumbled upon a place from another time, located off an unmarked gravel road, set amid cotton fields and undetectable by my GPS.

Welcome to Po' Monkey's Lounge.

Located in a ramshackle sharecropper shack outside of Merigold (population 664), it's one of the last remaining juke joints in America.

It looks so out-of-time that you can still imagine the original Delta blues musicians crying their hearts out in song, while drinking cheap whiskey and chasing shady women.

"I've had this place since 1961," says owner Willie Seaberry, 74, aka Po Monkey. "Not many like this anymore."

He lives in the joint. By day, he works in the cotton fields.

"It ain't hard, I just ride a tractor around all day," says Seaberry. "I have no plans to retire."

He does look forward to Thursdays, when he opens his home to the public. Seaberry has been known to don three to four suits a night. He'll even pull out a rainbow wig.

"I like to keep people entertained," he says. "I've been doing it for years and plan to keep doing it as long as I'm alive."

Seaberry's perseverance has earned Po' Monkey's (662-748-2254) a historic marker out front. It's a designated site on the Mississippi Blues Trail, which honors the state's contribution to blues music.

Po' Monkey's Lounge was but one stop on my trail, when I spent a week chasing musical ghosts across the South.

I was performing with a band at South by Southwest, a weeklong music festival held every March in Austin, Texas. It's a rock band called Death of Samantha. We decided to reunite after not playing together in years.

The idea of flying to Austin, going to a hotel and playing a festival sounded OK. But nowhere near as fun as driving.

We -- drummer Steve-O, bass player David James and I -- would visit the places that gave birth to rock n roll. The itinerary was simple: spend one day in each place and see as many music-related things as possible.

"As possible," because there are so many things to see. But also because this is the South, which runs on its own time, always slower than up North. Which is OK, since the gentle pace usually comes with a happy-go-lucky disposition.

John Petkovic/The Plain DealerLower Broadway remains the most popular place to check out the country vibes of Nashville's past.

Music City Yes, they call Nashville "Music City," in large part because the country music industry is based here.

But Nashville is also the capital of Tennessee, a banking center and the home of Vanderbilt University.

In other words, with all that money flying around, you're more likely to run into a well-heeled gent than a crying-in-his-beer country singer.

Nashville still keeps a shrine to such a thing, though.

Tootsie's Orchid Lounge (422 Broadway; 615-726-0463) is the main attraction on Lower Broadway, home to a number of bars, boot shops, neon signs and bands.

A walk down the strip makes for people watching, even if the music isn't exactly country. Within 20 steps, I heard different bands covering Journey and Weezer.

Not so at Tootsie's, which has made its name hosting country acts.

Opened in the 1960s, the honky-tonk has served drinks and played host to countless country heroes, from Patsy Cline to Kris Kristofferson to Waylon Jennings to Willie Nelson.

These days, it brings in local bands playing country and rock, old and new. It's also as close as you'll get to an old-time experience -- especially if you get hammered while staring at the walls, lined with well-worn black-and-white photos from the past.

Tootsie's became the place for country folk to drink because of its proximity to Ryman Auditorium -- the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. These days, the Ryman (116 Fifth Ave. N.; 615-889-3060; ryman.com) hosts all kinds of bands. But it also hosts tours that revisit its rhinestone heyday.

There's nothing glamorous about Brown's Diner (2102 Blair Blvd.; 615-269-5509), the local institution located in a converted railroad car that boasts more grease than glitz. Yes, the burgers are good, but the entire milieu has that dirty South charm.

supperclub.com) might be down and dirty, but is just as charming. The dive bar is an Elgin Marble's throw away from the Parthenon, the full-scale replica of the Greek version, built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.

It's also the kind of place where you can drink yourself silly and shoot pool with old country singers taking shelter from the tourist traps.

Soulsville, U.S.A. Really experiencing the South requires so many detours that you wonder if there is such a thing as a main road. Nashville to Memphis, Tenn., is a straight 213-mile shot on I-40.

John Petkovic/The Plain DealerLoretta Lynn continues to draw, even when she isn't performing, thanks to the Loretta Lynn Dude Ranch, located between Nashville and Memphis.

That is, if you don't stop at Loretta Lynn's Ranch, located in Hurricane Mills, 75 miles east of Nashville.

Lynn's ranch hosts Easter egg hunts, campouts, the occasional concert by the country legend and the Coal Miner's Daughter Museum.

She also lives on the immaculate plantation. The closest I got to Loretta was a shop full of souvenirs. It was an experience in country music opulence nonetheless. For info, go to lorettalynnranch.net.

From splendor to spectacle.

Within minutes of hitting Memphis, we entered Graceland (1-800-238-2000; elvis.com/graceland). It's the fourth time I've visited Elvis Presley's pad. The $36 ticket included an upgraded tour of his jets and cars.

John Petkovic/The Plain DealerYes, it's the jungle room in Graceland, Elvis' home in Memphis.

Yeah, seeing the jungle room is fun. Ditto for the cars. But $36 for all that glitz -- only to exit through a gift shop full of souvenirs?

Graceland was quickly overshadowed by two other museums in Memphis more passionate about music than celebrity.

I've been to Sun Studio five times and I could go back five more. The studio that launched the careers of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins (706 Union Ave.; 901-521-0664; sunstudio.com) is nothing glamorous, just a handful of little rooms, including a bare-bones studio with white walls and musical instruments.

But seeing where Elvis sang "Mystery Train," as the song plays over the speakers, still gives me goose bumps. It also brings home what makes Memphis so special.

I've often thought of Paris as a museum. The French city is a work of art, from some other time. I see Memphis the same way -- just an hour behind Eastern timebut decades removed from 21st-century life.

Little has changed in the recording room of Sun Studio or on Union Avenue. Many of the shops and signs are straight out of the '50s and '60s.

The barbecue joints would be called "old school" in most parts of the country; in Memphis, they just are.

The service might not be efficient by Northern standards, but it's usually because there is a single person doing the cooking. Do we expect efficiency when someone invites us over for dinner?

I had no problem waiting at Payne's Bar-B-Que (1762 Lamar Ave.; 901-272-1523). FloraPayne has been serving rib sandwiches in this converted garage since 1972.

Yes, the sandwich was succulent. But it also made the perfect stop after visiting the Stax Museum (926 E. McLemore Ave.; 901-942-7685; staxmuseum.com).

The place tells the story of Soulsville U.S.A., namely the Stax label that launched the careers of Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, the Staple Singers, Wilson Pickett and Booker T. & the MG's.

Stax is loaded with artifacts, old instruments and information about the music. But more than that, it conveys just how so many of the musicians were locals, from around the neighborhood.

Music has been in Memphis' calling since the 1920s, when Southern blues musicians came to play Beale Street -- Muddy Waters, Louis Armstrong, B.B. King.

These days, King has a joint there (143 Beale St.; 901-524-5464; bbkingclubs.com) and his favorite guitar maker, Gibson, hosts tours of its factory down the street (145 Lt. George Lee Ave.; 901-544-7998).

John Petkovic/The Plain DealerGibson Guitars not only has a custom shop in Memphis, but also a factory that is open to the public.

Far from the strip, Wild Bill's offers the real deal. Located in a nondescript strip mall, this urban juke joint (1580 Vollintine Ave.; 901-726-5473) rolls out bands playing old-school blues and soul. The show-stealers are the colorful characters who come to hang out, dance, sweat, laugh, sing along and drink quarts of beer.

For a taste of that past, check out Earnestineand Hazel's (531 S. Main St.; 901-523-9754). This Memphis mainstay was once a brothel and a shady after-show hangout for musicians. The upstairs still looks "vibe-y," as they say, but these days E&H rolls out a tasty "Soul Burger" and a killer jukebox stocked with soul, funk and country.

U.S. 61 is more than the stuff of musical myth. The artery connects Memphis and New Orleans and runs through the Mississippi Delta country.

No trip through the past would be complete without a ride down Highway 61 or a stop in Clarksdale, Miss., 75 miles south of Memphis.

The birthplace of Sam Cooke and Ike Turner houses the Delta Blues Museum (1 Blues Alley; 662-627-6820; deltabluesmuseum.org). The museum explores the Delta's proud place in American music.

Stand in the parking lot, throw a stone and you might hit a bar co-owned by another famous native, Morgan Freeman -- the Ground Zero Blues Club (352 Delta Ave.; 662-621-9009; groundzerobluesclub.com).

If you're hoping to find the devil lurking around the crossroads, good luck. The spot where Johnson is said to have summoned the dark side in exchange for musical prowess is a busy intersection surrounded by fast-food joints.

I got lost in the darkness while trying to find Johnson's grave in Quito (located 64 miles south of Clarksdale, off Mississippi 7). It was pitch black as we trolled through Payne Chapel Cemetery. Found it. One problem: Johnson is said to be buried in three different places.

John Petkovic/The Plain DealerOh when the tubas come marching in, you know you are in New Orleans.

The Big Easy Wealways hear about beaded, stumbling partyers on BourbonStreet guzzling hurricanes. But is there a drink that defines New Orleans morethan the classy Sazerac?

The pre-Civil War mix of cognac, rye, absinthe and Peychaud's Bitters is best served at Tujague's Restaurant (823 Decatur St.; 504-525-8676; tujaguesrestaurant.com), which has entertained politicians, partyers and rogues since 1856.

We wandered one block north of the French Quarter to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, the site of the acid-freakout scene in "Easy Rider." It's also where voodoo priestess Marie Laveau is supposedly buried.

If you can't find her, Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo (739 Bourbon St.; 504-581-3751; voodooneworleans.com) is good for some ooky-spooky kitsch. Fried dough covered in sugar will possess you at Cafe Beignet (334-B Royal St.; 504-524-5530; cafebeignet.com).

It will also make you stop for another drink, it seems.

This time at Napoleon House (500 Chartres St.; 504-522-4152; napoleonhouse.com), which has been serving the French Quarter for more than200 years. The well-worn walls offer a striking counterpoint to the decor -- faded glory at its best. Oh, and the place also boasts an immaculate take on the Pimm's Cup.

We wandered around the French Quarter, around Jackson Square, down to the banks of the Mississippi, then back up to St. Louis Cathedral, just as a brass band began playing.

Take a break. Have a drink. No rush. No worries.

The Big Easy, no doubt.

Live Music Capital It's 500 miles from New Orleans to Austin, Texas. It seems like 5,000.

Yes, the road goes near Port Arthur, the home of Janis Joplin, George Jones and the Big Bopper. Then there's Galveston, the inspiration for the Jimmy Webb classic that Glen Campbell turned into a hit.

But everything is bigger in Texas, including the mundane drives across the flat lands.

I experienced the other extreme when I arrived in Austin. The capital of Texas was hosting South by Southwest, the music festival that turns every imaginable space into a venue.

You even expect a band to jump out of a stall and start playing in the bathroom.

In the middle of it all was Casino el Camino (517 E. 6th St.; 512-469-9330; casinoelcamino.net). Imagine a rock 'n' roll vibe, an eclectic jukebox and killer burgers -- you are here.

Austin has experienced a gradual makeover -- long a magnet for country, it has earned its "Live Music Capital of the World" moniker as much for the psychedelic sound of Roky Erickson and the indie rock of Spoon.

Well, there's always the Broken Spoke (3201 S. Lamar Blvd.; 512-442-6189; brokenspokeaustintx.com). The only real honky-tonk left standing, it dates back to 1964. The Spoke played host to Ernest Tubb, George Strait and Willie Nelson, who still stops by once in a while.

I did make it to Waterloo Records (600 N. Lamar Blvd.; 512-474-2500; waterloorecords.com), one of the most eclectic and well-stocked record stores in the country.